Very close to where I live there is a "Parque Natural" (Like a national park) called "Montes de Málaga". Many years ago it was scarcely populated with Olive and Carob trees. In an effort to prevent flooding in the City of Málaga the hills were repopulated with Aleppo Pine trees and thus the Montes de Málaga Parque Natural was created.I´m not sure why this particular species of pine was chosen as it is not native to Spain. Nor does it seem to be reproducing naturally in the Montes de Málaga area. At any rate it is fairly well suited to the climate and has been effective in reducing the water runoff when heavy rains fall in the hills above Málaga.These pines do not seem to be of much value commercially as they do not grow very big or very straight. One of there chief qualities seems to be their ability to survive dry climate conditions.

The needles on this pine are about 8-10 cm long. The cones are about the same length and have the curious habit of doubling back on the branch as can be seen in the image above. Old cones stay on the tree for a long time and it is not uncommon to see older trees loaded with old cones that never fell off.

About this blog

Exploring the World´s Tree Species is a blog focused on the tree species of the world and their importance to our everyday lives. It is estimated that there are about 10,000 unique tree species in the world. Most of us however can only name a handful of trees, which is understandable given that in any given area there are normally only a few dozen tree species prevalent. In this blog however my aim is to reveal interesting facts and images of tree species from all over the world. Given that I live in Spain and only travel occasionally to the United States and a few other countries the bulk of the trees blogged about will be from these places. I hope that by browsing through this blog you will come to enjoy the trees as much as I do.